1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system to replace a photosensitive unit and a transfer unit, and a printer using the system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a printer or a copier includes a photosensitive unit which develops an image, and a transfer unit which transfers the developed image onto paper. However, when the photosensitive unit and the transfer unit are used for a long time, the quality of the image is gradually lowered. Thus, when an expected life span of the photosensitive unit and the transfer unit has elapsed, the units should be replaced so that a clean image can be developed continuously.
FIGS. 1 through 5 illustrate a conventional system for replacing a photosensitive unit and a transfer unit in a printer.
Referring to FIGS. 1 through 5, a photosensitive unit 10 and a transfer unit 20 are supported to slide along first and second guide rails 41 and 42, respectively, provided inside a printer. In order to replace the photosensitive unit 10 and the transfer unit 20 with new units, first, a door (not shown) provided on a front surface of the printer is opened, and a locking lever 30, which locks the photosensitive unit 10, is pushed, as shown in FIG. 2. In this case, the locking lever 30 lifts the transfer unit 20 by a predetermined height such that the transfer unit 20 is separated from the photosensitive unit 10. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, a handle 11 of the photosensitive unit 10 is grasped, and the photosensitive unit 10 is pulled along the first guide rail 41 to be removed from the printer. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4, the locking lever 30 is lowered in an original location. As shown in FIG. 5, a first handle 21 of the transfer unit 20 is grasped, and the transfer unit 20 is pulled along the second guide rail 42 to be removed from the printer. In this case, when the transfer unit 21 is removed to some degree, a second handle 22, installed on a top surface of the transfer unit 20, is pulled and grasped so that the transfer unit 20 does not fall. Thereafter, mounting a new unit is performed in a reverse order.
However, in such a replacing system, whenever the photosensitive unit 10 and the transfer unit 20 are removed or installed, the locking lever 30 should be repeatedly lowered or lifted. In addition, since each of the photosensitive unit 10 and the transfer unit 20 is grasped, pulled, and removed from the printer, the photosensitive unit 10 and the transfer unit 20 may fall down and become damaged if they deviate from the first and second guide rails 41 and 42 and are removed carelessly while operating.